SPORTS BETTING MAKES PANTHERS VS BEARS FUN

Sports betting is finally legal in the state of Florida!  And since it's Panthers vs Bears on Thursday Night Football, (Yeah.  Yuk!)  this is a perfect example where a wager or two can make this game fun for everyone.  After all, these two teams have three wins between them.  Maybe both teams will be so bad that this will be a high scoring, exciting game.  But, then again, Thursday Night Football historically does not lend itself to awesome football due to the short game week.

This is when you need to jump on some prop bets to make things interesting.  By the way, the Bears are favored by 3.  The over/under is set at 38.  So, even Vegas is telling you this might be a low scoring dud.  Prop bets are fun.  You could bet on the first player to score a touchdown tonight, for example.  DJ Moore is at +800!  Or how about interceptions thrown by Tyson Bagent?  Over .5 is at -135.  See?  This game is looking bet(ter) by the minute.  Have fun.  And, in the meantime, here's a pop quiz on tonight's game from Craig Shemon and Company on ESPN Southwest Florida!

The NFL Week 9 brought some surprises, which has been a common theme with the entire season so far. Even with both the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers having bye weeks, some major action took place in the NFC. So, what's the NFC and AFC playoff picture, and where do all the teams stand?

Let's talk NFC first and then take a look at the AFC. One big game this weekend for the NFC was the Seattle Seahawks, who were totally clobbered by the Baltimore Ravens. Now, the Lions' loss to the Ravens doesn't look nearly as bad. This team is just on fire, and they tend to tear apart anyone in their way. Then, another hot game in the NFC was the Philadelphia Eagles against the Dallas Cowboys. This was a close one, but the Eagles pulled off an exciting win. Finally, the Minnesota Vikings, even without their fearless leader Kirk Cousins, snagged another big win. So, the Eagles sit on top of the NFC. When it comes to just the NFC North, the Lions are still on top, followed by the Vikings, Packers and Bears. Both the Vikings and Packers won last weekend, but those wins weren't blowouts, by any means.

Now, looking at the AFC, this league also had some surprises over the weekend. For one, the Kansas City Chiefs totally annihilated the Miami Dolphins in Germany. So, the Chiefs are still on top, but the Ravens are close behind.

Also, to that guy who called me out on Facebook early in the season for not including the Buffalo Bills as one of the NFL's top five teams, the Bills are now out of the top seven in the AFC after their latest loss. So, yeah, there you go, buddy. Jacksonville and Miami are still in the top four. I have to say that Jacksonville is a sleeper hit this season.

Here are the current NFC and AFC standings and the playoff picture.

Division leaders:

Eagles: 8-1
Lions: 6-2
49ers: 5-3
Saints: 5-4

Wild Card race:

Seahawks: 5-3
Cowboys: 5-3
Vikings: 5-4
Commanders: 4-5
Falcons: 4-5
Buccaneers: 3-5
Packers: 3-5
Rams: 3-6

So, in the NFC, the Lions are the Eagles' current biggest threat. The AFC is even tougher, though.

Division leaders:

1. Kansas City (7-2)
2. Baltimore (7-2)
3. Jacksonville (6-2)
4. Miami (6-3)

Wild-Card race:

5. Pittsburgh (5-3)
6. Cleveland (5-3)
7. Cincinnati (5-3)
8. New York Jets (4-3)
9. Buffalo (5-4)
10. Houston (4-4)
11. Indianapolis (4-5)
12. Las Vegas (4-5)

So, in the AFC, both Kansas City and Baltimore are threats to the Eagles. I think Baltimore is especially dangerous.